Here to Stay
by lostcause15
Summary: She never stayed in one place for too long, it was just a part of her job description. Always hiding, always running. It was all she had ever known. She was never comfortable in one place, at least until she met him. Steve/OC. After Avengers, before Winter Soldier, slight AU.


**Disclaimer: I do not ow the Avengers or any of the characters, only my OC.**

There was darkness all around her. Usually darkness is where she was most comfortable, where she was trained to be the most comfortable, but this time was different. She took a deep breath and fought all of her instincts to leave. _Just walk forward, one step._ She thought to herself as she extended her leg out and took a step out from where she was hiding. The moment she moved the whole world around her was thrown into chaos, sirens blaring, agents shouting and alarms going off. Now all she had to do was wait.

* * *

 _Which direction was it?_ She was so turned around in the dark narrow hallways of SHIELD. Breaking in had not been as big of a task as she would have hoped, but it still proved to be a challenge. Especially now, as she was trying to navigate the basement of the building. To make it worse, none of it was well lit. Not that darkness was a hindrance to her abilities, but it definitely made things difficult when she didn't know where she was going. She cursed herself under her breath for not taking a closer look at the buildings blueprints. She had just found the right turn when she hear footsteps approaching. She hurriedly ducked into an unlocked room while a guard walked past, making sure he was gone before she continued down towards the records room.

It was just a short time later that she reached the thick steel doors. They were almost impenetrable, equipped with cameras, motion/ heat detectors, and retinal scanners. She took some time to examine them, taking in all of the system's tech. She sighed knowing that this would take much longer than usual, set her timer and got to work.

Not an hour later she was in, making her way toward the file of interest. Once there she stayed hidden behind a pile of boxes, shielding her from any sensors. Shaking her head at the less than expected challenge, she wondered why one of the most technologically advanced agencies still relied on paper files. When she heard the scheduled power surge she braised, knowing that the security system was rebooting, undoing all of her hard work. The lights went out as it reset and then there was darkness all around her. Usually darkness is where she was most comfortable, where she was trained to be the most comfortable, but this time was different. She took a deep breath and fought all of her instincts to leave. _Just walk forward, one step._ She thought to herself as she extended her leg out and took the step out from where she was hiding. The moment she moved the whole world around her was thrown into chaos, sirens blaring, agents shouting and alarms going off. Now all she had to do was wait.

* * *

It was just any other normal day at SHIELD, well at least as normal as it could be in a top secret agency. Steve Rogers, or Captain America as he was more commonly known, was doing his regular routine at the agency's headquarters. Training new agents was not his favorite job, but Steve was grateful for he position at SHIELD none the less. The chance to get closer to his fellow avenger Agent Romanoff was also welcomed. She was the last member of the great team that he had come to trust. Steve, being an honest man himself, was never a big fan of anyone who made a living by lying. Natasha had always made him weary because of her history. Now that there was mutual trust, the Captain felt as if he could get comfortable with this team.

"Good morning, Captain." A familiar voice pulled him from his musings. He turned toward the woman with a smile and replied "Morning, Agent Romanoff."

"Are you ready for this month's batch of new recruits?" Steve turned to look to the group of new agents with a sigh, "As ready as I'll ever be."

All he got in reply was a soft chuckle as the red haired agent moved toward the anxious group of young men and women. Steve couldn't help but mentally laugh at their naivety, remembering when he too once looked like that. Shaking his head as not to get lost in his memories, he followed in Natasha's wake leading the group into the confines of SHIELD.

They were but halfway done with the first day when a code red was sounded. Confused and on high alert, he quickly dismissed the young agents as he and Natasha ran to the control room. They both grabbed a coms unit and immediately heard Maria Hill's voice in their ears. "Breach in the records room! Captain, I need you and your team to make your way to the basement. Be prepared for anything."

Steve and Natasha started sprinting in the direction as they were told. Steve was preparing for the worst as he ran in front of the other agent, wondering how and why someone broke into the records of the agency. He could hear the pounding of other SHIELD operatives' feet running behind them.

 _Just when I thought things were starting to calm down._ He thought to himself with slight irritation, but then threw the thought aside knowing that things were never calm in the world of SHIELD.

It took entirely too long for them to reach the underground floors of SHIELD. When they got to the basement the group broke into pairs, each one checking different areas. Steve and Natasha checked each room for good measure, then moved to the closed doors of the records room. Steve used his shield to pry them apart, panting from the effort. Once the doors were open the two spit up moving to either side. They crept forward together making sure to stay aware of one another. The almost called the room clear when Steve heard soft humming. He shot Natasha a confused look, making sure he wasn't just hearing things. Through the faint light of the alarms he could see she heard it too. They moved closer together as to prepare for an attacker, when a woman came into their line of sight. She was young and quite short. He couldn't see anything else as she had his back toward him. The young woman was going through a box of files in no rush, almost unaware of all that was happening around her. Steve stepped out behind her holding his shield up as a barrier, making sure there was no other adversaries around. Sensing another's presence the woman turned around with a smirk and said "Took you long enough."

Steve was initially too shocked to do anything, and was incredibly grateful that nothing seemed to take Natasha by surprise. The red headed agent flew forward effectively knocking the woman to the ground. After a small struggle Natasha pinned the smaller girl to the ground. He heard the woman mumble something along the lines of "Remember me?" to the agent before Natasha drew her arm back and propelled it forward, knocking the woman out.

"Thanks for the help, Cap," shot Natasha with a huff, annoyed with his lack of participation in the fight. Steve managed to look sheepish as he moved forward to pick up the unconscious intruder taking her to Director Fury.


End file.
